Apparatus and method for providing information about two-way computer communication services

ABSTRACT

A plurality of user terminals regularly accessing Internet Relay Chat (IRC) services are also in communication with a service selecting host. The service selecting host is configured to collect data from the plurality of user terminals. The collected data includes information about the users at the user terminals and information about the user terminals activity in the accessing of the IRC services. The service selecting host compiles and sorts the collected data concerning IRC services to produce information provided to the user terminals. The information provided to the user terminals allows users at the user terminals to more easily select sorted IRC services.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] A. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention generally relates to a service providingapparatus for identifying a desirable service to be provided to a userfrom a large number of provided services such as broadcasting programsin a cable television (CATV), an interactive television and the InternetRelay Chat (IRC), and to a service receiving apparatus, a serviceproviding host, a computer-readable recording medium for storing aselected-service receiving program, a computer-readable recording mediumfor storing a selected-service transmitting program, a service selectingmethod in a service receiving apparatus, and a method for transmitting aselected service in a service providing host.

[0003] More specifically, the present invention is directed to a serviceproviding apparatus that is configured to select a service to beprovided based on service utilization information of a plurality ofusers, a service receiving apparatus, a service providing host, acomputer-readable recording medium for storing a selected-servicereceiving program, a computer-readable recording medium for storing aselected-service transmitting program, a service selecting method in aservice receiving apparatus, and also to a method for transmitting aselected service in a service providing host.

[0004] B. Description of the Related Art

[0005] Conventionally, various services such as broadcasting programs ofa CATV, and open channels for IRC are available for accessing and aretypically selected directly by users. However, there are many servicesavailable, specifically, there are hundreds of open channels found inIRC and therefore, it is difficult for individual users to selectdesirable services. In particular, when first attempting to use suchservices, users have an extremely difficult time learning about even themost basic of the services available. This problem is especially acutewhen attempting to use IRC. The reasons for such problems are easy tounderstand. In the CATV, since the programs are determined beforebroadcasting the programs, the users may obtain information concerningprogramming by referring to a program table in order to select desirableprograms. On the other hand, with reference to IRC, there are no suchprogram listings available which reveal the contents of conversations inthe IRC programs, even when the main subjects on open channels arepre-determined in advance.

[0006] To solve the above-described difficulties which occur when a userattempts to select a service, for example, Japanese Unexamined PatentApplication Laid-Open No. Hei 6-86279 discloses a home terminal systemfor CAM This CATV home terminal system allows the services to beclassified according to the contents thereof and the users to designatethe classification, so that the number of services displayed on thescreen will be reduced. Also, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.Hei 9-261609 discloses transmitting apparatus, receiving apparatus, andtransmission/reception system for broadcasting program, in which theaudience rating of programmed services is displayed, and the number ofservices is reduced to display on the screen in an order based uponincreasing audience ratings. Furthermore, another system has beenproposed, in which, while using specific phrases and theme musicconcerning in the contents of the services to be provided, specificservices are selected from a large number of services, on behalf ofusers, and then the selected specific services are displayed on thescreen. For instance, there is a system which allows a user to designatea keyword appearing in an open channel of IRC and produce a list ofchannels which include this keyword on the display screen.

[0007] However, in such the systems as described in Japanese PatentApplication Laid-Open No. Hei 6-86279 and Japanese Patent ApplicationLaid-Open No. Hei 9-261609, when the users attempt to select desirableservices, the number of services which will be displayed on the screenis slightly reduced so as to make the selection task a little easier.Further, in the conventional system where a keyword is designated theusers, the users will have no chance to learn about such services thatfall outside of the designated keyword.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] The present invention has been made to solve the above-describedproblems, and therefore, has an object to provide a service providingapparatus, service receiving apparatus, a service providing host, acomputer-readable recording medium for recording a selected-servicereceiving program, a computer-readable recording medium for recording aselected-service transmitting program, a service selecting methodemployed in the service receiving apparatus, and a method fortransmitting a selected service in a service providing host, capable ofselecting a desirable service from a large number of services, on behalfof a user, in order that the user can effectively access a service thathas compatible information, and moreover the user can access all of theavailable services with little difficulty.

[0009] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, aninformation service includes a host and a plurality of receivingapparatuses connected to the host via a communication network. Thereceiving apparatuses is configured to request service information fromthe host and the host is configured to provide the service informationin response to the request. The plurality of receiving apparatusesinclude a storage means for storing selection information relating to atleast one separate service, selected service data and user data sets. Atransmission means transmits the user data set and the selectioninformation to the host. A receiving means receives the response fromthe host. The host includes a means for compiling and sorting theselection information to produce service utilization information basedon the user data sets sent from the plurality of receiving apparatuses.A service selection means produces a list of selected services to beprovided to the plurality of receiving apparatuses based on the serviceutilization information and the selection information. A response meanstransmits to the receiving apparatuses the service information where theservice information is derived from the list of selected services.

[0010] Preferably, the host further includes an address database whichincludes a plurality of addresses. The addresses correspond to storagelocations of a plurality of corresponding separate services includingservices on the list of selected separate services. The host alsoincludes an address reading means for reading the plurality ofaddresses, identifying and reading each of the addresses correspondingto each separate service of the list of selected separate services.

[0011] Preferably, in each of the plurality of receiving apparatuses,the user data set further includes data relating to a corresponding oneof the plurality of receiving apparatuses, data relating to userattributes, and data relating to utilization place.

[0012] In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, areceiving apparatus is configured for connection to an informationservice and at least one of a plurality of separate services, where theinformation service provides information about the plurality of separateservices, the information service including a host for providing theinformation service in response to a request from the receivingapparatus. Further, a plurality of the receiving apparatuses areconnected to the host via a communication network. The receivingapparatus includes an input means for inputting selection informationrelating to at least one of the separate services. A storage meansstores the service selection information and a user data set containinga selected service data. A transmission means transmits the user dataset and the selection information to the host and transmits a request tothe host for the information service. A reception means receives fromthe host the information service.

[0013] Preferably, the storage means is further configured to storeservice selection information identifying at least one of the separateservices accessed by the receiving apparatus. As well, the receivingapparatus includes a display means for displaying the service selectioninformation stored in the storage means.

[0014] In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, aservice providing host provides an information service to a plurality ofreceiving apparatuses connected to the host via a communication network.The receiving apparatuses are configured to connect to at least one of aplurality of separate services, where the information service providesinformation about the plurality of separate services. The host isconfigured to provide the information service in response to a requestfrom any one of the receiving apparatuses. The host includes a receptionmeans receiving from the plurality of receiving apparatusespredetermined user data sets and selection information relating to atleast one of the separate services. A compiling means collects receivedones of the user data sets and the selection information. A storagemeans stores the user data sets and the selection information and acompiling means searches and sorts the user data sets and the selectioninformation in order to produce service utilization information. Theservice utilization information includes sorted information regardingusage of the separate services by the receiving apparatuses and sortedinformation from the user data sets. A service selecting means selectsat least one of the separate services for each individual receivingapparatus based upon commonality between data in the service utilizationinformation and data in the user data sets and the selection informationtransmitted from the individual receiving apparatus. A response meanstransmits identification of a selected one of the separate services tothe receiving apparatuses.

[0015] Preferably, the present invention includes an address databaseinto which addresses identifying storage location of each of theseparate services is recorded and also includes an address reading meansfor reading an address of the selected one of the separate servicesselected by the service selecting means.

[0016] In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, acomputer-readable recording medium has recorded thereon a selectedservice receiving program used in a receiving apparatus connected via acommunication network to a host. The host provides an informationservice in response to a request sent from the receiving apparatus. Theselected service receiving program is configured to perform thefollowing steps within the receiving apparatus

[0017] A) transmitting a user data set containing a selected servicedata to the host in response to passage of a predetermined timeintervals;

[0018] B) transmitting to the host selection information which includesidentification of at least one of a plurality of separate servicesaccessed by the receiving apparatus;

[0019] C) receiving a response from the host, the response includinginformation related to at least one of the plurality of separateservices, the at least one of the plurality of separate servicesselected by the host based upon sorting of a plurality of compiled onesof the user data sets and the selection information; and

[0020] D) receiving a response from the host in response to a newlyselected one of the plurality of separate services being identified bythe host.

[0021] Preferably, the user data set further includes data identifying acorresponding one of the receiving apparatus, data corresponding to userattributes and data corresponding to a utilization place.

[0022] Preferably, the selected service receiving program furtherperforms the steps of:

[0023] receiving from the host service selection information relating toa plurality of identified ones of the separate services; and

[0024] means for selecting any one of identified ones of the separateservices.

[0025] In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, acomputer-readable recording medium has recorded thereon a selectedservice receiving program, used in a receiving apparatus connected via acommunication network to a host for providing an information service inresponse to a request from the receiving apparatus. The selected servicereceiving program is configured to perform the following steps:

[0026] A) transmitting a user data set containing a selected servicedata to the host at predetermined time intervals;

[0027] B) transmitting to the host selection information relating to aseparate service in response to the receiving apparatus selecting theseparate service;

[0028] C) receiving and storing from the host an address of a secondseparate service in response to selection by the host of the secondseparate service, selection of the second separate service by the hostbased upon sorting and searching a compilation of a plurality of theuser data sets and the selection information; and

[0029] D) receiving a new address of the second separate service inresponse to identification by the host of a change in the address.

[0030] Preferably, the user data set further includes: data identifyinga corresponding one of the receiving apparatus, data corresponding touser attributes and data corresponding to a utilization place.

[0031] Preferably, the selected service receiving program furtherperforms the steps of:

[0032] receiving from the host service selection information relating toa plurality of identified ones of the separate services; and

[0033] means for selecting one of the separate services.

[0034] In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention,a computer-readable recording medium stores thereon a selected servicetransmitting program used in a host for providing a variety of separateservices to a plurality of receiving apparatuses connected via acommunication network. The selected service transmitting program isconfigured to conduct the steps of:

[0035] A) receiving predetermined user data sets containing selectedservice data from the plurality of receiving apparatuses within apredetermined time interval;

[0036] B) receiving service selection information from at least one ofthe plurality of receiving apparatuses;

[0037] C) compiling and sorting service utilization information basedupon received data from the user data sets;

[0038] D) selecting appropriate separate services to be provided to thereceiving apparatuses based upon the service utilization information andthe service selection information; and

[0039] E) transmitting to the receiving apparatuses informationidentifying the appropriate separate services to the receivingapparatuses.

[0040] Preferably, the selected service transmitting program is furtherconfigured to perform the steps of:

[0041] receiving the user data sets, where the user data sets includedata identifying a corresponding one of the receiving apparatuses anddata related to user attributes; and

[0042] determining whether the user data set has been previouslyreceived from the same receiving apparatus

[0043] within the predetermined time and in response to a determinationthat the user data set has not been previously received, the user dataset is added to the service utilization information in the compiling andsorting step.

[0044] In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention,a computer-readable recording medium stores thereon a selected servicetransmitting program used in a host for providing a variety of separateservices to a plurality of receiving apparatuses connected via acommunication network. The selected service transmitting program isconfigured to perform the following steps:

[0045] A) providing an address database into which storage positions ofthe variety of separate services are registered in correspondence withthe respective ones of the separate services;

[0046] B) receiving predetermined user data sets containing selectedservice data from the plurality of receiving apparatuses withinpredetermined time period;

[0047] C) receiving a service selection information from any one of theplurality of receiving apparatuses;

[0048] D) compiling and sorting service utilization information basedupon information in the user data sets;

[0049] E) selecting the separate services to be provided to thereceiving apparatuses based upon comparisons between the serviceutilization information and the received service selection information;

[0050] F) reading addresses from the address database, the addresscorresponding to the separate services selected in the selecting step;and

[0051] G) transmitting the address to the receiving apparatuses.

[0052] Preferably, the selection service transmitting program is furtherconfigured to conduct the steps of:

[0053] receiving from at least one of the receiving apparatusesselection information corresponding to a separate service selected bythe at least one of the receiving apparatuses.

[0054] Preferably, the service utilization information is compiled andsorted based upon data relating to the separate services and theplurality of receiving apparatuses.

[0055] Preferably, the user data set further contains data identifying acorresponding one of the receiving apparatuses, and the selected servicetransmitting program is further cr)nfigured such that in response toreceiving duplicate sets of the user data set, only one of the duplicatesets of the user data set is compiled into the service utilizationinformation and sorted based upon the data identifying the correspondingone of the receiving apparatuses.

[0056] Preferably, the user data set further contains data correspondingto one of the receiving apparatus and data relating to user attributes,and the selected service transmitting program is further configured suchthat in response to receiving duplicate sets of the user data set, onlyone of the duplicate sets of the user data set is compiled into theservice utilization information and sorted based upon the datacorresponding to the receiving apparatus and data corresponding to theuser attribute.

[0057] Preferably, the user data set further includes data correspondingto utilization place, utilization frequencies and user attributes, andthe selected service transmitting program is further configured suchthat in response to receiving duplicate sets of the user data set, onlyone of the duplicate sets of the user data set is compiled into theservice utilization information and sorted based data relating to theutilization place, the utilization frequencies and the user attributes.

[0058] In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention,there is a service selecting method for use in a plurality of receivingapparatuses in electronic communication with a host. The methodcoordinated by the host in response to communication with the receivingapparatuses. The receiving apparatuses are further configured to accessany one of a plurality of separate services. The method comprises thesteps of:

[0059] providing the host with a database identifying a plurality of theseparate services accessible to the plurality of receiving apparatuses;

[0060] compiling service utilization information in the host based uponinformation from user data sets;

[0061] creating the selection information in the one of the receivingapparatuses;

[0062] receiving from the one of the plurality of receiving apparatusesa request for information and selection information;

[0063] selecting a group of the separate services from the serviceutilization information based upon a comparison of selection informationand the service utilization information;

[0064] transmitting from the bast to the one of the plurality ofreceiving apparatuses the group of separate services selected in theselecting step;

[0065] transmitting at predetermined time intervals a user data set fromthe one of the receiving apparatuses to the host; and

[0066] updating the service utilization information in response toreceiving the user data set.

[0067] Preferably, the service selecting method further includes thestep of transmitting the user data set from the one of the receivingapparatuses in response to a user selecting one of the separate servicesfrom a corresponding one of the receiving apparatuses.

[0068] Preferably, the separate services correspond to internet chatchannels.

[0069] Preferably, the user data set includes information concerninguser attributes.

[0070] Preferably, the user data set includes information concerninglocation of the one of the receiving apparatuses.

[0071] Preferably, the user data set includes information concerning theone of the receiving apparatuses

[0072] Preferably, the receiving apparatuses are personal computersconnected to the internet

[0073] Preferably, the host is a computer connected to the internet.

[0074] Preferably, the host performs the updating step at secondpredetermined time intervals.

[0075] Preferably, the second predetermined time interval is greaterthan the predetermined time interval in the transmitting step.

[0076] In the above described aspects of the present invention, when theuser data sets containing a

[0077] predetermined items are transmitted from a plurality of receivingapparatuses to a host, the host processes the utilization information ofthe services with respect to a predetermined item contained in the userdata set. When the service selection information is transmitted from oneof the plural receiving apparatuses, the host selects such a servicefitted to the selection information, and then transmits the selectedservice to the receiving apparatus. Alternatively, data for specifying aservice selected by the host, for example, a service name, and anaddress may be transmitted as a response. As previously explained, sincethe host can selectively provide such a service suitable for the userfrom all available services based upon the present utilizationinformation of the services, even a user who has no specific targetservice can be easily provided with access to suitable services.

[0078] The present invention stores addresses of IRC and other internetservices. Therefore, such services can be easily identified by a usersince the present invention includes stored addresses. For example, aprovider of the Internet, and a provider of an interactive broadcastingprogram may easily be incorporated into the present invention since thestored information is regularly updated.

[0079] In the present invention, data stored in a receiving apparatusand data stored in the host are used to identify appropriate servicesfor the receiving apparatus to access. Further, the data stored in boththe receiving apparatus and the host include a great deal ofinformation, such as user attribute which includes, for example, an ageof a user, a sex thereof, and an occupation. Further, the utilizationplace data includes, for instance, a country to which a user belongs, aregion where a user lives, and an address where a user lives arespecified. The user data set with this data and the data compiled in thehost provide detailed means for determining appropriate services for auser to access. Since the content of the user data set is detailed, moreappropriate services can be identified for a users use.

[0080] These and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of thepresent invention will become more fully apparent from the followingdetailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings where like reference numerals denotecorresponding parts throughout.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0081] For a better understanding of the present invention, reference ismade of a detailed description below to be read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

[0082]FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing a basic organizationof a service providing system having a service providing apparatus inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[0083]FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing in greater detail thevarious components of the service providing system and the serviceproviding apparatus in accordance with the present invention;

[0084]FIG. 3 is a table showing an example of a service correspondencetable which-indicates a utilization information for a variety ofchannels of IRC in accordance with the present invention;

[0085]FIG. 4 is a table which illustrates an example of a channel listin IRC in accordance with the present invention;

[0086]FIG. 5 is a diagram which illustrates a process flow operationexecuted in the service providing system in accordance with the presentinvention;

[0087]FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a process operation conductedby a service providing host employed in the service providing systemdepicted in FIG. S;

[0088]FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a process operation conductedby a user terminal employed in the service providing system depicted inFIG. 5

[0089]FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating a totalizing/rewriting processoperation in accordance with the present invention; and

[0090]FIG. 9 is a table illustrating a conceptional structural diagramof a rewritten service correspondence table.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0091] A description will now be made of various preferred embodimentsaccording to the present invention. As an example, and for the sake ofsimplifying the description, services provided in the embodimentsreferred to below are services provided on the Internet Relay Chat.Further, Internet Relay Chat will be referred to hereafter as “IRC”.Such IRC services, and similar services accessible via the system inaccordance with the present invention, are also referred to as “separateservices”.

[0092] Basic Concept

[0093] A service providing system 1 shown in FIG. 1, which constitutes abasic idea of the present invention, includes a service selecting host2, a provider 4, and a user terminal 3 connected to the serviceselecting host 2 and provider 4. The service selecting host 2 isconfigured to select separate services suitable to a user by compilingand sorting current utilization information relating to a variety ofseparate services, such as IRC services. The utilization information fora specific IRC may include any of a variety of data, for instance, thenumber of times various users log on to that specific IRC within aspecified time period, demographic information and/or the specifictopics discussed in the IRC, as is described in greater detail below.The user terminal 3 receives a response from the service selecting host2 which specifies selected services and the user terminal 3 thentransmits a request to the provider 4 choosing one of the selectedseparate services specified in the response. The provider 4 thentransmits a service to the user terminal 3 in response to the requestfrom the user, as is described in greater detail below.

[0094] Overall Arrangement

[0095]FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram for indicating a serviceproviding system containing a service providing apparatus according toone embodiment of the present invention. In the service providing system1, the service selecting host 2, the user terminal 3, and the provider 4are connected by way of a network 15. The connection between the userterminal 3, the provider 4 and the service selecting host 2 isaccomplished via a computer communications network such as the internetor world wide web. It should be understood that the network 15 couldalso be, for example, another computer communications network such as acable TV network.

[0096] The service selecting host 2 includes a utilization informationreceiving unit 5 for receiving the utilization information transmittedfrom the user terminal 3, a selection information receiving unit 6 forreceiving a selection information relating to services that may beprovided to the user terminal 3, and a storage unit for storing acondition list 12 and a service correspondence table 7. The conditionlist 12 contains a received user data set (described in greater detailbelow). Service utilization information is written into the servicecorrespondence table 7, as is described in greater detail below. Theservice selecting host 2 further includes a compiling and sorting, unit8 which regularly updates the contents of the service correspondencetable 7, an address database 9 (address DB 9) for recording addresses ofvarious services in correspondence with the respective service names, aselecting unit 10 for selecting a service adapted to the receivedselection information from the content of the service correspondencetable 7, and a response transmitting unit 11 for reading the address ofthe service selected by the selecting unit 10 from the address DB 9 totransmit the read service address to the user terminal 3.

[0097] The user terminal 3 contains a storage unit 23, a datatransmitting unit 24, a data receiving unit 25, and an input/output unit26. The storage unit 23 stores a user data set 21 containingpredetermined data and selection information 22 relating to a servicesuch as a specific IRC service. The data transmitting unit 24 transmitsthe user data set 21 and the selection information 22 to the serviceselecting host 2. The data receiving unit 25 receives the response sentfrom the service selecting host 2 and the data sent from the provider 4.The input/output unit 26 displays conversation content from a receivedservice. Although only one user terminal 3 is indicated in FIG. 2, alarge number of user terminals are normally connected to the network 15.

[0098] The provider 4 contains a request receiving unit 27, a servicedatabase (service DB) 28, and a service transmitting unit 29. Therequest receiving unit 27 receives the request sent from the userterminal 3. In the service DB 28, the services are stored. The servicetransmitting unit 29 reads out the requested service from the service DB28, and then transmits this read service to the user terminal 3. In FIG.2, there is shown only one provider 4. This is an exemplification forshowing the existence of the provider. In accordance with the presentinvention, a plurality of providers are connected to the network 15.

[0099] Structure of User Data Set

[0100] The user data set 21 stored in the user terminal 3 includes avariety of information, for example, the information may include some orall of the various information described below. The user data set 21 mayinclude: selected service data, receiving apparatus data, user attributedata, and utilization place data. The respective data are previouslyinputted by, for instance, the user and stored in the user terminal bythe input/output unit 26. The selected service data is data indicativeof at least one service (i.e. and IRC) which the user has logged onto ormay want to log onto via the user terminal 3, and the data includes, forinstance, an address where the service is accessed, and the name of theservice. The receiving apparatus data is data used to discriminate eachof the user terminals 3 within the network 15 by the service selectinghost 2, and includes an address (i.e. an internet address) and atelephone number allocated to each of the user terminals connected tothe service selecting host 2. The user attribute data is data indicativeof, for example, sex, age, occupation, and hobby of the user.

[0101] As an example for the purpose of describing the presentinvention, two sets of user attributes, i.e., “a male in his twenties”,and “a single in his thirties” are to possible attributes assumed to bepreviously inputted and recorded in several user data sets, andclassification names (or codes) corresponding thereto are employed asexamples of user attribute data. As the utilization place data, forinstance, the following detailed information is considered possible foruse, an address of a user, a nationality of a user, latitude/longitudeobtained from a GPS (Global Positioning System), and a name of arepeater station obtained from the PHS (Personal Handy phone System). Inthe description of the present invention, a classification of two setsof utilization places “KOBE CITY” and “suburb region” are used asexamples, and corresponding classification names thereof are employed asthe utilization place data. Other information in addition to theabove-listed data may also be included in the user data set 21, ifrequired or desired.

[0102] Selection Information

[0103] The selection information 22 includes data transmitted from theuser terminal 3 to the service selecting host 2 and is derived from thedata combinations in the above described user data set. In theembodiment of present invention described herein, the selectioninformation 22 used in the service selecting host 2 and the userterminal 3 is pre-configured as a plurality of sets of selectioninformation which include data combinations based upon the informationin user data sets from various individual users. For example, a user orgroup of users want to be directed to a chat or IRC using the followdesignated sets of selection information:

[0104] (1) The user(s) desires connection to the most popular selectedservice, where the popularity is based upon selected service data fromsubscribing user terminals;

[0105] (2) The user(s) desires connection to a service that is bothappropriate and popular of all selected services based uponidentification of such a selected service by commonality betweenclassification of user's attribute data and selected service data in theuser terminals from subscribing user terminals;

[0106] (3) The user(s) desires connection to a service that iscorresponds to a particular location and is popular of all selectedservices based upon identification of such a selected service bycommonality between the user's utilization place data and selectedservice data in the user terminals from subscribing user terminals.

[0107] Furthermore, in the example described above, as is furtherdescribed below, special channels 1 to 3 are subsequently identified bythe service selecting host 2 where the special channels 1 to 3correspond to channels provided in IRC. The special channels 1 to 3correspond to services which were identified as a result of commonalitybetween the various the above-explained selection information in aone-to-one relationship. Specifically, special channel 1 corresponds tothe most popular selected service, special channel 2 corresponds to anidentified service that is both appropriate and popular, special channel3 corresponds to a service with a particular location and that ispopular. The special channels are described in greater detail below.When one special channel is selected by a user from a user terminal, oneof the above-explained selection information (1) to (3) is transmittedto the service selecting host, as is explained further below. Theservice selecting host 2 compiles and sorts the information on the basisof the respective selection information as described above.

[0108] Structure of Service Correspondence Table

[0109] In FIG. 3, there is shown a conceptional structural diagram ofthe service correspondence table 7 indicative of service utilizationinformation.

[0110] The service correspondence table 7 includes a transmissionsubject, a channel number, and a service name. For the purposes ofproviding an explanation of the present invention, it is now assumedthat the service selecting host 2 has selected the most appropriateselected services for accessing from the user terminals based upon theabove described selection information.

[0111] In FIG. 3, mark “*” indicated in the column labeled TransmissionSubject indicates that the corresponding service in that row isdesignated for use by all of the user terminals which subscribe to theservice provided by the service selecting host 2. In other words, nouser data set information classifies these services. The servicecorrespondence table 7 depicted in FIG. 3 is only one example of such atable and in the depicted example, only a small amount of services arelisted thus reflecting usage of a select number user terminals connectedto the network where the services listed were determined based upon userattribute data and utilization place data.

[0112] In the column Transmission Subject, the rows having the subject“a male in his early twenties” and “a single in his thirties” eachcorrespond to a service which was identified by sorting compiledinformation in the condition list 12, where the sorting was effectedbased upon respective classifications in which user attribute datadesignated common information.

[0113] For example, the row “a male in his early twenties” identifies anIRC or chat room which is most popular with users who have in their userattribute data the information that the user is “a male in his earlytwenties”. Similarly, the row having the Transmission Subjects “KOBECITY” and “suburb region” correspond to chat room or IRC services thatwere sorted based upon the popularity of these services with users whoserespective classifications in user attribute data and utilization placedata had common information and where the utilization place dataincluded information “KOBE CITY” and “suburb region”.

[0114] Although not shown in FIG. 3, other Transmission Subjects may beidentified based upon further combinations of sorted data obtained bysearching and sorting combinations of information listed the conditionlist 12 in which information from the user data sets is compiled. Forexample, the following transmission subjects may also be identified bysearching and sorting for combinations of information from theutilization place data with the user attribute data such as “a male inhis early 20s, who lives in KOBE city”, and “a single male in histhirties, who lives in a suburb region”. In this case, in order toselect a service suitable for such a transmission subject, common datais searched for and sorted based upon the information contained in theselection information.

[0115] The rows with the listing Normal 1, Normal 2, . . . Normal 5 inthe column with the heading Channel Number indicate normal IRC channels(Normal Channels). These normal channels are not sorted, but rather areindications of chat channels or chat rooms readily available on thenetwork 15. Although 5 sets of normal channels are depicted in FIG. 3,hundreds of Normal Channels are usually accessible in IRC over, forinstance, the internet. In the normal channels, there is noclassification of the normal channels and therefore, all user terminalsare designated as the Transmission Subjects as indicated by the “*”, anda separate Service Name corresponds to each of the normal channels.

[0116] In the Channel Number column, the channels “Special 1” through“Special 3” listed indicate special channels which have been identifiedby the service selecting host 2. In the example depicted in FIG. 3, theSpecial 1 channel corresponds a channel that was identified inaccordance with the above-explained selection information (1), where bysearching and sorting through the data compiled in the condition list 12from all of the user terminals, the most popular of all selectedservices has been identified. The two “Special 2” channels wereidentified by searching and sorting through the compiled data in thecondition list 12 to find commonality between the above-describedselection information (2), where the service was transmitted to a userterminals whose classifications in the user attribute data included thedata identified in the corresponding Transmission Subject column.Similarly, the two “Special 3” channels corresponds to channelsidentified by searching and sorting through the compiled data in thecondition list 12 to find commonality between the above-describedselection information (3), where the service was transmitted to a userterminals whose classifications in the utilization place data includedthe data identified in the corresponding Transmission Subject column.

[0117] It should be understood, that each user who logs onto the serviceselecting host 2 will be provided with a customized list of channelswhich may be selected for usage. For instance, a user whose user dataset designates that the user is, for instance, in his early twenties andis living in Kobe City will be provided with at least the followingspecial channels from the service selecting host 2: Special 1; Special 2(which is designated in the Transmission Subject column with “a male inhis early 20s”); and Special 3 (which is designated in the TransmissionSubject column with “KOBE city”. Each user is provided with a list ofpossible services in accordance with the information in their user dataset. Further, an example of a list of channels provided from the serviceselecting host 2 to a user terminal 3 is depicted in FIG. 4 where aplurality of normal channels are listed along with special channels.When such a channel list is displayed on the screen of the user terminal3, it is possible to display the selection information as the channelname, or display the selection information by transmission subject.

[0118] For the sake of simplicity, in the embodiment depicted in FIG. 4,the column of with the heading Channel Name indicates the servicecontents of various sorts of chats. In an actual case, the addressesused to access the respective services and the service names may bewritten.

[0119] In accordance with the service correspondence table depicted inFIG. 3, a sports chat is transmitted to such a user terminal throughwhich a user selects the SPECIAL-1 channel so as to receive the mostpopular service. Similarly, a weather forecast chat is transmitted tosuch a user terminal through which a user who is a male in his earlytwenties selects the SPECIAL-2 channel so as to receive the most popularservice among the users with the same age. And in a case where the useris a single in thirties, the sports chat is transmitted. A similarservice transmission is carried out when a user selects the SPECIAL-3channel. It should be understood that when one of the Normal Channels isselected, she selected service is transmitted from the provider 4, eventhough the selecting unit 10 did not select the channel for the servicereceiving apparatus 3. Further, the host 2 still processes the selectionof the Normal Channel by the service receiving apparatus 3, updating thecondition list 12 using the user data set transmitted from the servicereceiving apparatus 3, and updating the service utilization list 7, asis described in greater detail below.

[0120] Process Flow in Service Providing System

[0121]FIG. 5 schematically shows a process flow operation executed inthe service providing system 2 according to the above-describedembodiment.

[0122] First, when a service is selected and entered via the userterminal 3 by a user, the service selection information is transmittedto the service selecting host 2 (#1). In this embodiment, for the sakeof easy understanding, it is assumed that the SPECIAL-1 channel shown inFIG. 3 is selected. In this case, the service selection informationtransmitted to the service selecting host 2 includes informationindicating that “the most popular of all selected services of userterminals has been selected”.

[0123] The service selecting host 2 receives the transmitted selectioninformation (#2), and reads the service correspondence table 7 from thestorage unit (#3). The service selecting host 2 selects a service namecorresponding to the selection information from the read servicecorrespondence table 7 (#4). In this example, the sports chatcorresponding to the SPECIAL-1 channel is selected as the service name.

[0124] Subsequently, the service selecting host 2 reads an address ofthe sports chat from the address DB while using this service name as akey (#5), and then transmits the read address to the user terminal (#6).

[0125] Upon receipt of the address of the selected service (#7), theuser terminal 3 sends a request to the provider 4 (#8).

[0126] The provider 4 which receives the request fetches a servicestored at the received address (#10), and then transmits this fetchedservice to the user terminal 3 (#11).

[0127] While receiving the service sent from the provider 4 (#12), theuser terminal 3 sends a user data set every predetermined time “T2”(#13) to the service selecting host 2 (#14) so as to update thecondition list. The transmitted data is received (#15)

[0128] Within a predetermined time “T1” (#17), the service selectinghost 2 receives a plurality of user data sets and stores these user datasets into a condition list 12 (#17). It should be noted that in order tostore utilization information sent from as many user terminals aspossible, the predetermined time “T1” is made sufficiently longer thanthe time interval “T2” during which the user terminal transmits theutilization information. When the user data sets are stored within thepredetermined time T1, the service selecting host 2 compiles theutilization information, sorts, and updates the content of the servicecorrespondence table 7 (#17).

[0129] Operation of Service Selecting Host

[0130] Referring now to a flow chart shown in FIG. 6, operation of theservice selecting host 2 for executing the above-described processoperations will be explained.

[0131] First, at step S41, the following initialization is carried out,for instance, contents of a buffer used to read the servicecorrespondence table and the addresses of the services are cleared.

[0132] Second, at step S42, a determination is made as to whether or notthe service selection information has been received from the userterminal 3. If the service selection information is not received, thedetermination is repeated. When the service selection information isreceived, the process operation is advanced to step S43. That is, atstep S42, the service selecting host 2 waits for the reception of theservice selection information. As an example, it is now assumed thatselection information corresponding to the SPECIAL-1 channel shown inthe service correspondence table of FIG. 3 is received.

[0133] At step S43, the service correspondence table 7 is read, andthereafter the process operation is advanced to step S44.

[0134] At step S44, a service is identified that corresponds to thereceived selection information from the service correspondence table 7to thereby acquire a name of this selected service. In this example, thesports chat is identified as the service name.

[0135] At step S45, the address of the selected service, namely, theaddress of the sports chat in this case is read out from the addressDB9, and then the process operation is advanced to step S46.

[0136] At step S46, the read address is transmitted to the user terminalfrom which the selection information has been sent. Thereafter, theprocess operation is again returned to step S41 at which the serviceselecting host 2 waits for the reception of the next selectioninformation.

[0137] Subsequent to step S41, while the process operations of step S42to step S46, process operations of step S47 to step S50 is carried outin a parallel manner.

[0138] At step S47, a check is made as to whether or not the user datasets are received from a plurality of user terminals provided within thenetwork. If the user data sets are received, then the process operationis advanced to step S48. Conversely, when the user data sets are notreceived, the process operation is again returned to step S47. That is,at step S47, the service selecting host 2 waits for the transmissions ofthe user data sets from the user terminal 3.

[0139] At step S48, the received user data sets are written into thecondition list 12, and then the process operation is advanced to stepS49.

[0140] At step S49, a check is made as to whether or not thepredetermined time T1 has passed. If the predetermined time T1 haselapsed, then it is regarded that a sufficient amount of user data setshave been stored in the condition list 12, and the process operation isadvanced to step S50. Conversely, when the predetermined time T1 has notyet passed, the process operation is returned to the previous step S47in order to further store the user data sets. At step S47, the serviceselecting host 2 waits for the reception of the user data set.

[0141] At step S50, a sorting and updating sub-routine is carried out(as is described below) to rewrite the contents of the servicecorrespondence table 7 by using the user data set stored in thecondition list 12. After the rewriting operation is completed, theprocess operation is returned to step S47 at which the user data set isstored during the predetermined time T1.

[0142] Operation of User Terminal

[0143] Referring now to a flow chart shown in FIG. 7, operation of theuser terminal 3 for executing the process operations indicated in FIG. 5will be described.

[0144] At step S61, the following initialization operation is carriedout, for example, the contents of the buffer used to store the selectioninformation, the address, and the user data set is cleared.

[0145] At step S62, a check is made as to whether or not a channel isselected. When the channel is selected, the process operation isadvanced to step S63. Conversely, when the channel is not selected, theprocess operation defined at step S62 is repeated. Since just after theuser terminal is connected to the network, the channel is not selected,it is so judged that the channel is not selected. It is now assumed thatthe SPECIAL-1 channel indicated in the service correspondence tableshown in FIG. 3 is selected immediately after the user terminal isconnected to the network.

[0146] At step S63, a check is made as to whether or not a specialchannel is selected. If a special channel is selected, then theselection information is recorded and the process operation is advancedto step S64. Conversely if the special channel is not selected, sincethe normal channel is selected, then the process operation is advancedto step S68 in order to request the provider 4 to provide the service.

[0147] At step S64, another check is made as to whether or not theselection information is changed. When the selection information ischanged, the process operation is advanced to step S65 so as toselect/receive a new service. Conversely, when the selection informationhas not changed, the process operation is advanced to step S67. In sucha case that the channel is selected just after the user terminal isconnected to the network, it is so judged that the selection informationis changed, and then the process operation is advanced to step S65.

[0148] At step S65, the selection information is transmitted to theservice selecting host 2. Since the SPECIAL-1 channel is selected, theabove-explained selection information (1) “the most popular selectedservice of all subscribing user terminals” is transmitted as theselection information.

[0149] At step S66, a determination is made as to whether or not anaddress is received from the service selecting host 2. When the addressis not received, the process operation is again returned to step S65 atwhich the selection information is repeatedly transmitted. Conversely,when the address is received, the process operation is advanced to stepS67.

[0150] At step S67, a determination is made as to whether or not theaddress of the selected service is changed, namely whether or not theservice corresponding to the selection information is changed. If theaddress has changed, then the process operation is advanced to step S68in order to receive another service. Conversely, when the address hasnot changed, since the selectively transmitted services are identical toeach other, the process operation is advanced to step S69. It isdetermined that the address has changed just after the user terminalconnected to the network, and then the process operation is advanced tostep S69.

[0151] At step S68, a request is sent to the provider 4 so as to requesta service.

[0152] At step S69, the reception of the service from the provider 4 iscommenced. Since the service request operation and the service receptionoperation at step S68 and step S69 are similar to the sequentialoperation for receiving the normal IRC, a detailed description thereofis omitted.

[0153] At step S70, a check is made as to whether or not thepredetermined time “T2” has passed after the service is started to bereceived. If the predetermined time T2 has passed, then the processoperation is advanced to step S71. Conversely, when the predeterminedtime T2 has not yet passed, the process operation is again returned tostep S62. At step S62, the determination as to whether or not theselection information is changed by a change in the channel isrepeatedly performed.

[0154] At step S71, the user data set is sent to the service selectinghost 2, and the process operation is again returned to step S62. At stepS62, such a check is repeated to determine whether or not the selectioninformation has been changed by entering new information in the serviceselection information.

[0155] In other words, in such a case that the selection information(channel changing) is not changed by the user within the time T2, theprocess operation is advanced from step S64 to step S67. For instance,when the SPECIAL-1 channel of FIG. 3 remains to be selected, a check ismade at step S67 as to whether or not the service of the SPECIAL-1channel is changed into other chats than the sports chat. If the serviceof the SPECIAL-1 channel is changed, the replacing service is requestedto the provider 4. If not, then the sports chat is continuously receivedfrom the provider 4.

[0156] Conversely, even when there is a change in the selectioninformation (namely, channel change) by the user within the time T2, ifthe services are identical to each other, it is so judged at step S67that there is no change in the address. Thus, the same service iscontinuously received from the provider.

[0157] Sorting and Updating Sub-Routine

[0158] In the flow chart shown in FIG. 6, when the service selectinghost 2 stores the utilization information and the predetermined time T1has passed, the sorting and updating sub-routine of FIG. 8 is executed.For the sake of simple explanations, the following description is madeof such a case that the service correspondence table 7 indicated in FIG.3 is updated to produce another service correspondence table shown inFIG. 9.

[0159] First, at step S81 shown in FIG. 8, a determination is made as towhether or not a received user data set has previously been recorded inthe condition list 12. When it is determined that such a user data setis present, the process operation is advanced to step S82. Conversely,when it is determined that such a user data set is not present, theprocess operation is advanced to step S84.

[0160] At step S82, one user data set is selected from the user datasets having the same receiving apparatus data, and then the processoperation is advanced to step S83. There is no specific limitation onhow to select one user data set. For example, the latest user data setmay be selected.

[0161] At step S83, the user data sets having the same receivingapparatus data except for those selected at the former step are deletedfrom the condition list 12, and the process operation is advanced tostep S84.

[0162] At step S84, one set of criteria of selection information amongall of the preset selection information is set to be updated. In thisembodiment, one of the below-mentioned three sets of criteria orcombinations of selection information are used as examples of suchselection information which are to be updated (the selection informationis sorted in order to update the list of services in the list 7):

[0163] (1) The most popular selected services in all of the subscribinguser terminals.

[0164] (2) The most appropriate and popular of all selected servicesaccessed by subscribing user terminals where the most appropriatecriteria is based upon a commonality between classification of user'sattribute data and selected service data in the user terminals fromsubscribing user terminals;

[0165] (3) The most appropriate selected services in the user terminalswhere the most appropriate criteria is based upon a commonality betweenthe user's utilization place data and selected service data insubscribing user terminals.

[0166] As to each of the above sets of selection information (1) to (3)above, process operations at steps subsequent to step S85 are repeatedlyperformed until all three sets of selection information are processedand updated data is produced. In other words, steps S84 through stepsS88 repeat once for each set of selection information (1) to (3).

[0167] In the case that selection information (1) is set in step S84,user data set which has commonality with the selection information isselected. First of all, the user data sets having the same selectionservice data are grouped, a maximum group is searched in which the totalnumber of user data sets within that group becomes a maximum, and then,one of these user data sets is recognized as a representative user dataset. When there are plural maximum groups, any one of these maximumgroups may be selected. Also, the representative user data set may bearbitrarily selected from the maximum group. It is now assumed that theselected service of the representative user data set is the NORMAL-1channel of the normal IRC channel.

[0168] Next, at step S86, a service name provided in the same channel asthe selected service of the representative user data set is specifiedwith reference to the service correspondence table 7 shown in FIG. 3. Inthis embodiment, the service name “current event chat” provided in theNORMAL-1 channel is specified.

[0169] At step S87, a special channel is specified which corresponds tothe selection information from the SPECIAL-1 channel to the SPECIAL-3channel with reference again to the service correspondence table 7 shownin FIG. 3. In the case of FIG. 3, the special channel in which the userterminals connect to the most is the SPECIAL-1 channel. When the specialchannel is specified, the service name of the specified special channelis rewritten to the service name of the representative user data set. Inthis embodiment, the service name “sports chat” of the SPECIAL-1 channelindicated in FIG. 3 is rewritten or updated to the service name “currentevent chat” shown in FIG. 9.

[0170] At step S88, a check is made as to whether or not the servicesare have been searched and sorted as to all of the totalizationconditions (1) to (3). If the services are not yet searched and sorted,then the process operation is returned to step S84. At step S84, thenext totalization condition is determined. If the services are searchedand sorted with respect to all of the totalization conditions, then itis regarded that the updating operation of the service correspondencetable 7 is accomplished, and thus the process operation is returned tothe main routine shown in FIG. 6.

[0171] When the selection information (2) is set at step S85, the userdata sets having the same selected service data and the same userattributes are respectively grouped, a representative user data set isdetermined in a similar manner to the above-described. Similar to theabove description, when there are plural maximum groups, any one ofthese maximum groups may be selected. Also, the representative user dataset may be arbitrarily selected from the maximum groups.

[0172] Now, considering the case, when a plurality of classificationsare set as the user attribute data, a representative user data set isselected from each of these classifications. In this embodiment, arepresentative user data set is selected from each of the twoclassifications of the user attribute data, i.e., “a male in his earlytwenties”, and “a single in the thirties”. It is now assumed that as oneexample, the selected service of the representative user data setcorresponds to the NORMAL-5 channel of the normal IRC channel, and theuser attribute data corresponds to “a male in his early twenties”.

[0173] Next, at step S86, a service name provided in the selectedchannel of the representative user data set is specified with referenceto the service correspondence table 7 in a similar manner to the aboveexplanation. In this case, the service name “movies chat” is provided inthe NORMAL-5 channel.

[0174] At step S87 similar to the above explanation, with referenceagain to the service correspondence table 7, a special channel isselected based upon the criteria contained in the representative userdata. The service name of this specific channel is rewritten to thespecified service name. In this embodiment, the service name “weatherforecast chat” of the SPECIAL-3 channel indicated in FIG. 3 is rewrittento the service name “movies chat” shown in FIG. 9. In the SPECIAL-3channel, “suburb region” is a subject to be transmitted.

[0175] It should be noted that in the selection information (3), when aplurality of classifications are present in the utilization place data,the process operations of step S84 to step S88 may be repeatedlyperformed in order to sort the services in correspondence with therespective classifications inherent in the data.

[0176] Other Embodiments

[0177] The present invention is not limited to the above describedembodiments, but may be modified as follows:

[0178] (a) In the updating process operation executed in theabove-explained embodiment, the most appropriate selected services bythe largest number of user terminals are sorted, updated and selectedfrom the services which may satisfy the selection information.Alternatively, the least selected services by the user terminals may besorted and selected. In this case, since the least accessed services isselected by a user, the access time to the service may be shortened andthe service may be received in comfortable conditions.

[0179] (b) The above embodiments have described the services on the IRC.However, the present invention is not limited to these services. If anyother services are provided via a network, for instance, a broadcastingprogram provided by a CATV, and another broadcasting program provided byan interactive broadcasting system which is expected to realize in thefuture, then these services may be applied to the present inventionirrespective of the service modes.

[0180] (c) In the case that a special channel is selected, a normalchannel for providing the channel may be stored, and may be displayed ona screen. Even when a service presently provided on a specific channelis changed, since the received service history is stored as a channel,the service which has been just provided could be quickly recalled on ascreen.

[0181] (d) In the above-explained embodiments, the service can bereceived when the user data set of the user terminal is made coincidentwith the transmission subject of the service correspondence table. Thepresent invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example,in such a user terminal having “a in his early twenties” as theclassification of the user attribute, and having “KOBE CITY” as theclassification of the utilization place, it is alternatively possible toselect cervices which are sorted based upon the classification ofanother user attribute and that of another utilization place.

[0182] In accordance with the present invention, even when a largenumber of services are provided, the services suitable to the respectiveusers are properly selected to be transmitted to the respective users.As a consequence, these users can avoid such a cumbersome selecting ofservices, and furthermore can readily receive all of the properlyselected services.

[0183] Various details of the invention may be changed without departingfrom its spirit nor its scope.

[0184] Furthermore, the foregoing description of the embodimentsaccording to the present invention is provided for the purpose ofillustration only, and not for the purpose of limiting the invention asdefined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

1. A receiving apparatus for connection to an information service and atleast one of a plurality of separate services, wherein said informationservice provides information about said plurality of separate services,said information service including a host for providing said informationservice in response to a request from said receiving apparatus, whereina plurality of said receiving apparatuses are connected to said host viaa communication network, said receiving apparatus comprising: inputmeans for inputting selection information identifying a currentlyaccessed channel relating to at least one of said separate services;storage means for storing said selection information and a user data setcontaining a selected service data; transmission means for transmittingsaid user data set and said selection information to said host and fortransmitting a request to said host for said information service; andreception means for receiving from said host, said information servicewhich is selected according to a summary of said selection informationtransmitted from said receiving apparatus.
 2. A receiving apparatus asset forth in claim 1 , wherein: said storage means is further configuredto store service selection information identifying at least one of saidseparate services accessed by said receiving apparatus; and saidreceiving apparatus further comprises a display means for displayingsaid service selection information stored in said storage means.